I thought I would never see an injection-molded 1/48 scale E2-C. But now, thanks to Kinetic Model Kits, it exists! The densely packed kit box provides one clear and 13 light gray parts trees in two bags, respectively; my kit had a few loose and broken parts. Box art shows the actual aircraft readying to launch from a carrier.
Considering the size of the model, I was surprised there are only 207 injection-molded parts. Surface detail features engraved and raised panel lines and rivets; I found the panel lines and rivets a little heavy-handed for a newly tooled kit. The fuselage sprue attachments were rather thick; take care removing them to avoid extra work later.
Wheel well detail was busy looking, although there were some ejector-pin circles on the tops that would be hard to fix. The wheels are a three-piece assembly with a separate center hub and bulged tires.
The engines have nice intake ducting, including the prop drive shaft. Among the kit’s nifty options are wings that can be built either folded or extended without any cutting! Strong spars are provided for building the wings in the flying configuration, but I kept them removable by not gluing the outer wing panels to them, making my Hawkeye much easier to transport. Other choices: separate flaps and ailerons that can be positioned up and partly down; crew boarding door can be open or closed; two styles of engine side panels; separate, posable propeller blades; even static wicks molded on all the control surfaces. (I only broke one off building the model!) The nose is molded in clear plastic so you only have to mask the landing-light cover to achieve realistic lights.
Designed by Fightertown Decals, the decal sheet was perfectly printed by Cartograf. The markings are for an E-2C of VAW-112 Golden Eagles aboard USS Nimitz in 1995. I was particularly impressed by all the complicated walkways for the tops of the wings and the propeller-tip warning stripes. However, considering the size of the box, I was disappointed by the small, hard-to-read instructions.
I started with the cockpit. The instrument panel and side consoles had fine raised detail, and Kinetic did a nice job on the control wheels. But the ejection seats were molded in one piece and lacked detail, as did the the rear cockpit bulkhead. I didn’t spend much time painting the interior. The crew entry has an insert that must be painted if the model is going to be displayed with the door open.
The instructions call for 50 grams of nose weight, but with the wings folded, the quad tail fins, and the heavy, Frisbee-shaped rotodome – and little room in front of the cockpit – I skipped the nose weight and used a clear sprue stand to keep the model off its tail.
The fuselage and main wing assembly went together with no issues, although I did need filler around the bottom fuselage insert. The engine nacelle faces were slightly oversized compared to the nacelles. Be careful with the main landing gear: I tried my best to get it right and still managed to put the gear together with the wheel axles facing out instead of in. I was able to cut the lower oleo free with a razor saw to correct the gear. The rest of the kit went together as planned.
When it came time to paint, I did the black deicer boots on the wings and tail with Alclad II black primer. The next day, I masked the boots with Tamiya tape and used Testors Model Master gloss gull gray for the main color. After that dried, I gave the model a black sludge wash.
The Cartograf decals went on OK, settling down with small amounts of Mr. Mark Softer as needed, but they still silvered. The blue markings for the tops and bottoms of the rudders did not quite line up right; I touched up bare spots with a custom mix of Tamiya blue and flat black. The inner vertical-fin cap decals fit perfectly, though. Once all the decals were on, I applied a coat of Floquil flat clear (which is really more of a semigloss).
The finished model is impressive and captures the ungainly look of the Hawkeye. Scale measurements matched the full-size aircraft exactly! Based on the unused parts and parts breakdown, it’s a sure bet Kinetic will be releasing the upgraded Hawkeye 2000, and maybe even the export versions.
I spent 35 hours on my E-2C, mainly on masking the deicer boots and applying all the decals, and would recommend it mainly to experienced modelers.